Choosing a Coach
4 Factors to Consider
 
 
Some cities in the US have only one table tennis coach.  In other areas like LA or NYC, there might be 20 coaches within a 20-mile radius.  So which coach should you choose?  The cheapest? The funniest?  The highest rated?  Well, the choice is yours, but here are 4 factors to consider
 
 
#1 Communication
Does this coach communicate with you in regards to what should be your focus for various drills, what should be your focus during match play, what you should be doing on a weekly basis to make progress, how to approach a competition.  Overall, is he a good communicator?  If he is a good communicator, then you can trust him more and more and work together very well as a team.
 
 
#2 Goals
Does this coach work with you to achieve your own personal goals?  Not everyone is cut out to be an Olympian.  So, is he trying to help you reach your goals regarding achieving a certain rating or a certain fitness level or beating a certain opponent?  This goes back to the first point that I mentioned in regards to communication.
 
 
#3 Various Situations
Does this coach offer assistance in various situations – coaching in private lessons, group classes, fitness, mental sessions, match preparation, and match play.  Coaching in private lessons is critical to work on specific details such as developing new shots or new serves and also can be combined with sessions on the mental game.  The main advantage of private session is the personalized aspect.  Coaching in group settings is vitally important so that the coach can evaluate you playing with others.  In the next tournament, you won’t be playing every single match against that 1 coach, so it is important that you train with others and the coach be able to offer assistance while you are playing with others.  In order for the coach to fully understand your game, he must be good at coaching in private lessons, group classes, fitness, mental sessions, match preparation, and match play. 
 
 
#4 Personalized
In a private lesson, it is easy to personalize the drills.  But it isn’t just personalizing the drills, it is also about personalizing the focus of the drill.  Here is the drill______, and here is what we are trying to achieve in this drill__________.   The same approach should be taking in group classes and training camps…  this is drill we are doing.  In general, here are the main things to focus on.  As the coach goes from table to table, he should be detailing out for each player what they should be doing or focusing on specifically.  The more personalized the plan, then more each player can develop his own unique strengths.
 
 
So, you have only 1 coach in your state.  Ok, no problem.  Do a good job of communicating to him what you want to achieve, how much time you can spend, and you write out a good game-plan.  Even if he isn’t amazing, you do your best to get the most out of his expertise and do your best.  If you have the benefit of having 20 coaches to choose from, great!  Look at which coach is the best communicator, offers various training settings, and personalizes the drills best. 
 
 
In conclusion, realize that ultimately improvement is up to you.  Don’t put too much pressure on your coach to make you good.  You do a good job of taking the information you learn and applying it every minute of your training.  Put together a long-term program and be patient and persistent at making progress.
 
Join us!
 
Here at the Samson Dubina Table Tennis Academy, we offer both group training, private lessons, leagues, camps, and tournaments all year long.  We encourage you to try out the Ohio Mega Camps this summer, but also encourage you to come other times during the year for some awesome training. 
 
Samson Dubina Table Tennis Academy
Phone: 330-949-9230
E-Mail: tt@SamsonDubina.com
Website: www.SamsonDubina.com
Address: 2262 South Arlington Rd Akron, Ohio 44319